Rack system for dishwashing machine



RACK SYSTEM FOR DISK-[WASHING MACHINE Filed Aug. '7, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. w. GUTH BY JM m- HIS ATTORNEY LAUREN April 3,0} 1597631 Filedi Aug. mm

L. W. GUTH RACK SYSTEM FOR DISHWASHING MACHINE:

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LAUREN W. GUTH H S ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,087,769 RACK SYSTEM FOR DISHWASHING MACHINE Lauren W. Guth, Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 129,598 3 Claims. (Cl. 312-269) The present invention relates to automatic dishwashing machines for use in the home and particularly to a top rack construction which facilitates the ease of loading the maximum amount of dishes into the machine.

A common complaint voiced against automatic dishwashers is that they are so difficult to load, and that some people prefer to wash dishes by hand rather than go to the trouble of loading and unloading the machine. Much engineering time has been spent on the problem of designing dishwashing machines which are easy to load, will hold a maximum capacity of dishes, and will wash all of the dishes with equal results. There are two general types of full size dishwashing machines available today, namely, a tub type with a top opening and a drawer type with a front opening drop door. Both types of machines come in either a portable model or a built-in counter model. The portable model of tub type machine is closed by a hinged top cover while the built-in model is supported on rollers so that it may be shifted in and out of the counter and sealed shut when it is fully within the counter. This invention is primarily concerned with tub type dishwashers having a top-opening cover and particularly the construction of the topmost rack so that both the bottom and top racks may be loaded simultaneously in random fashion without interfering with the loading of the other rack.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an automatic dishwasher with two equal capacity dishracks for a maximum dish load where both racks may be loaded and unloaded in any order without interfering with the loading of the other rack.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a dishwashing machine with a swinging rack section pivoted to the cover of the machine so that when the cover is opened the rack section will rise out of the machine for gaining access to the dishwashing tub.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a dishwashing machine where the topmost rack is pivotally supported from the top-opening cover so that all racks of the machine may be loaded simultaneously without interfering with the loading of the other racks.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic dishwasher with a movable rack section that remains substantially level as the movement takes place.

Briefly stated, in accordance with this invention, the automatic dishwashing machine comprises a washing compartment formed by a tub and a top-opening cover that is.

hinged adjacent the top edge of the tub. A dish-supporting rack is mounted adjacent the mid-height of the tub and this rack is divided or split into at least two sections, namely, a front section and a rear section. The front rack section is supported by a parallelogram linkage system of which the cover is a part so that when the cover is raised the front rack section rises simultaneously, while remaining substantially level, until the front rack section is positioned over the rear rack section. It should be apparent that in this position a lower dish rack located in the bottom of the tub may be loaded with ice dishes at the same time both sections of the top rack are being loaded, all without interfering with the loading of the other racks. This is if prime importance to the housewife because the dish load must be separated by putting the large plates, dome ware and pots and pans on the lower rack while the cups, glasses and smaller saucers should be stacked on the top rack sections. This facilitates the loading of the machine in that the loading can take place in any order in which the dishes are convenient to reach on the kitchen counter or table.

My invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

FIGURE 1 is a right side elevational view of a portable dishwasher embodying the present invention with the top cover closed and parts broken away for illustration of the racking system and its relation to the dishwashing compartment;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side view similar to that of FIGURE 1 showing only the top portion of the machine with the top cover in its fully open vertical position with the front rack section of the topmost rack being positioned substantially over the rear rack section; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary top plan view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1 showing the right side of the split topmost rack to illustrate the linkage elements for supporting the front rack section.

Referring in detail to the drawings and in particular to FIGURE 1, this invention has been shown in one form as applied to a portable automatic dishwasher 10 having a dishwashing compartment 11 formed by a large capacity tub 1'2 with a top opening that is adapted to be closed by a pivoted cover 13. The tub 12 is substantially of square shape in plan view and it is formed by a series of four vertical walls such as front wall 14, parallel side walls 15 and rear wall 16. These vertical walls are suitably fastened together to form a cabinet structure. There is a reinforced undercarriage 17 provided at the bottom of the cabinet for supporting the casters 18. The bottom of the tub 12 must be raised above the bottom of the cabinet because a motor and pump assembly 20 must be located below the tub to serve as the source of power for the washing action that takes place Within the compartment 11. Accordingly, the bottom of the tub is formed by a recessed floor 21 which is Welded or otherwise fastened to the side walls of the tub 12. The motor pump assembly 20 is suspended in an opening 22 in the center of the bottom wall 21. Rising from the pump assembly is a washing system comprised of an axial flow pump mechanisrn 23 that supplies water to both a rotating spray army 24 and a vertically extensible spray tube 25. The purpose of the extensible spray tube 25 is to provide a washing action in the area of the mid-height of the tub. It should be understood that this washing system does not form part of the present invention, but that it is described and claimed in copending applications of Hardy et al., Serial No. 108,006 which was filed on May 5, 1961, and is entitled Pumping Mechanism and Pump Inlet Cover for Use Therein, and Guth application Serial No. 107,987 which was filed on May 5, 196-1, and is entitled Multiple Spray Structure for Dishwashers and the Like, both of which are assigned to the same assignee as is the present invention. As is standard construction, a metal sheathed resistance heating element 26 is formed in the shape of a.

loop that encircles the pump mechanism 23 at the bottom of the tub to serve as a source of heat during the drying cycle to dry the dishes after the various washing and rinsing cycles.

In an automatic diswasher it is necessary to provide a control system that includes selective switches, timer mechanisms, water valves, and a suitable wiring harness to connect these components to the various controlled mechanisms of the machine. Most of the control system of the machine is located within a control housing 28 that is supported from the front wall 14 of the tub for gaining ready access to these controls for testing and servicing purposes. The controls which must be manually set are located in a control panel 29 that extends across the top front edge of the machine where they may be easily observed and manipulated. Element 30 is a handle member for maneuvering the portable machine between its storage space, the kitchen table and the kitchen sink.

A rotating spray nozzle 31 is supported from the underside of the top cover 13 for washing downwardly onto the dishes in the top rack of the machine. The cover 13 includes a short feed pipe 32 having a bell mouth hose coupling 33 for joining the hose to a separate length of tubing 34 which is connected at its bottom to the motor pump assembly 20 as is best seen in FIG- URE 1. This rotating spray nozzle 31 and its accompanying structure does not form part of the present invention, but it is disclosed and claimed in the Sasnett Patent 2,987,260 which issued on June 6, 1961, and is assigned to the same assignee as is the present invention.

A standard full-size diswasher on the market today includes double racks which are supported within the tub, one above the other, in a spaced relationship. Likewise, the machine of the present invention incorporates a lower wire rack 36 and an upper wire rack 37. The present invention is concerned with the uppermost rack 37 but a brief explanation will be given first of the nature of the lower rack 36. The lower rack 36 is formed of open wire-work construction having a base 38 of intersecting wire lengths that are welded together to provide a checker-board appearance. The base is provided with corner feet 39 that rest on the bottom wall 21 of the tub adjacent the corners thereof. Upstanding fingers 40 are joined to the base 38 to serve as support members between which the plates, pots and pans, dome ware, etc., may be stacked or placed so that they remain in generally a vertical position facing into the water sprays emanating from the rotating spray arm 24. As seen in FIGURE 1, the vertically extensible spray tube 25 extends through the center of the lower dish rack 36 so that the tube might rise until its orifice is adjacent the center of the space between the upper and lower racks 37 and 36 respectively.

What has been explained above of the constructional details of the accompanying drawings represents information of the background in which the present invention is expected to operate. Such background construction is not to be interpreted as a limitation upon the applicants invention since it is known that the invention has broader utility in other designs of dishwashing machines without departing from the true spirit and scope of this invention. Returning now to a consideration of the uppermost rack 37, as best seen in FIGURE 1, it should be apparent that it is located in the tub 12 adjacent the mid-height thereof so that tall glasses, saucers and cups may be positioned therein to accommodate a maximum number of soiled dishes and related dinnerware during a single operating cycle of the machine. Clearly, the larger capacity of the two racks in the machine, the larger dish load that may be stacked therein.

Previously, it has been a customary design to leave a large central opening in the top rack so that the lower rack might be loaded therethrough without the necessity of removing the top rack. The present invention does away with this large wasted space in the center of the top rack by enlarging the top rack so that it is nearly the same size as the lower rack and substantially covers the area in plan View of the dishwasher tub. While this invention makes it possible to utilize an upper and lower rack of substantially equal load-carrying capacity it also precludes the necessity for removing the top rack in order to load or unload the bottom rack. This seeming paradox is accomplished by dividing the uppermost rack 37 into two sections, a front section 45 and a rear section 46. In other words there are two wholly independent rack sections of substantially equal size, meaning that the top rack 37 is split in the middle as at 47 along a line that parallels the back wall 16 of the tub. This rack 37 is also of open wire-wound construction having checkerboard configurations as well as folded side walls 48 to form a basket-like construction as distinguished from the flattened base construction minus side wall of the lower rack 36.

In its simplest form the rear section 46 of the topmost rack 37 is made stationary while the front section 45 is supported from both the tub 12 and the top cover 13 by a parallelogram linkage system identified generally as element 50. The reason for such a supporting system is that the front rack section 45 is designed to move with the top cover 13 so that as the cover is raised the rack section is raised, and as the cover is lowered the rack section is lowered. FIGURES 1 and 2 show the front rack section 45 in its two extreme positions, namely, the closed position of FIGURE 1 and the open position of FIGURE 2. In the illustrated embodiment the rear rack section 46 is made stationary by supporting it on suitable pins such as 51 that extend inwardly from the vertical walls of the tub.

Considering now the parallelogram linkage system 59 for supporting the front rack section 45, a pivotal connection must be made between the cover and the front rack section to allow suflicient head room for the dishes that are to be loaded in the top rack. The underside of the cover 13 is provided adjacent each side with a downwardly extending hanger or bracket 52 which etxends down along the side of the front rack section 45. This bracket is for mating engagement with a pivot pin 53 that extends sidewardly from a clip member 54 that is fastened to the side of the front rack section to provide a hinged connection between the rack section and the cover. Clearly, it is not enough merely to pivot the front rack section 45 to the cover 13 for some means must be provided to stabilize the rack section so that it will not tilt and cause some of its load to shift as the cover is moved. L-shaped link members 55 are joined between the lower front of the front rack section 45 and the tub 12 by hinge means 56 and 57 respectively as is best seen in FIGURE 1. Actually there is one link member 55 at each side of the tub. The rear end of the link 55 is slipped over one of the pin members 51 that supports the rear section 46 from the side walls 15. When the rear rack section 46 is positioned in the tub on the pins 51 it serves as a means for preventing the link 55 from slipping off the pins 51. Moreover, it 'is a simple matter to assemble and disassemble the links 55 from the pin 51, if it were considered necessary to remove the entire top rack 37 in order to service the washing mechanism or for some other reason.

Looking at FIGURE 2 with the cover in its substantially vertical fully open position it is apparent that the pivot pin 53 connecting between the cover and the front rack section 45 must be located so that the rack section may pivot with relation to the cover through an angle of about ninety degrees from the parallel closed position of FIGURE 1 to the perpendicular open position of FIG- URE 2. This means that the distance from the rear edge of the front rack section 45 to the pivot pin 53 must be less than the length of the bracket 52 that is supported from the cover 13 and connected to the pivot pin 53.

The pivot point 56 along the lower front edge of the front rack section 45 is so located that there is a parallelogram formed by (l) the hinge axis 60 of the top cover 13, (2.) the hinge pin 53 connecting the front rack section '45 to the cover by means of the bracket 52, (3) the hinge means 56 of the stabilizing link 55 and (4) the hinge means 57 at the other end of the stabilizing link. It is because of this use of a parallelogram that it is possible to control the tilting movement of the front rack section 45 so that it remains substantially horizontal while the cover is being pivoted either open or closed. It will be seen that this inherently causes the front rack section 45 to move forward initially as it rises, the forward movement being sufficient to cause the entire front section 45 to clear the rear section 46, and thereby permitting the two top rack sections to be closely adjacent without danger of interference between them as the front section is raised with the lid. Heavy duty counter-balance spring means 61 are combined with the hinge means of the top cover 13 to normally bias the cover to its raised position whereby a positive force is necessary in order to close the cover and latch it with a standard cover locking mechanism (not shown). The parallelogram linkage system 50 is so designed to support the front rack section 45 in its open position, as seen in FIGURE 2, to cooperate with the spring force of the counter-balance springs 61 of the cover and insure that the weight of the dish load stacked in the front rack sections 45 will not be enough to exert a torque that will tend to close the cover in a violent manner. It is best if a positive closing action is necessary in order to bring the cover down to its fully closed and latched position of FIGURE 1.

Attention is directed to the wire form 62 adjacent the back edge of the front rack section 45 at both corners thereof that rises above the rack and is bent forwardly a slight amount. This wire form 62 is also shown in FIG- URE 3 where it can be identified as a U-shaped form that is down-turned. The purpose of this wire form is to serve as a gauge 62 above which the dishes should not extend, otherwise they might be crushed when the cover is forced into its latched position. Moreover the gauge 62 serves as a barrier to space the dishes away from the rear corners of the rack sections 45 so that the dishes in this area do not interfere with the cover as the rack is lowered into its closed position of FIGURE 1. These gauges or barriers are of primary importance adjacent the rear corners of the rack section because of the concave nature of the underside of the cover 13 .as is best seen in FIGURE 1.

Having described above the novel features of the present invention it should be readily apparent to those skilled in this art that I have provided a full-size automatic dishwasher with a pair of dish racks that are of substantially equal area or carrying capacity which may be loaded simultaneously and at random without interfering with the loading or unloading of the other rack. I have combined a section of the top rack with the top cover without changing the action of the cover. This invention not only makes it possible to increase the loading capacity of automatic dishwashers, but it improves the accessibility thereby facilitating the ease of loading without having to load the soiled articles in a definite sequence. There can be random loading without losing the advantage of accessibility to all of the racks.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this .art and it is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention as claimed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An automatic dishwashing machine comprising a tub that is opened at the top, a top cover pivotally mounted adjacent the top back edge of the tub and serving when in .a closed position to seal the tub and form a dishwashing compartment, dish-supporting rack means mounted in the tub adjacent the mid-height thereof, the rack means being divided into at least two sections, there being a front rack section and a rear rack section that substantially fill the area in plan view of the tub, a parallelogram linkage system supporting said front section from the tub and cover so that when the cover is raised the front rack section rises with the cover to substantially overlie the rear section, said rear section being substantially stationary with said tub, said system including a support rigidly secured to said cover and extending down into pivoted engagement with said front section, the said cover and said support acting as one link of the parallelogram linkage system, said one link slanting downwardly from the pivotal mounting of said cover to the pivoted engagement of said support with said front section when said cover is closed suificiently to cause said front section to move forward initially as it rises to an extent sufiicient to clear said rear section, the linkage system being constructed so that the dishes loaded in the front rack section do not overbalance the cover and cause the cover to close.

2.. An automatic dishwashing machine comprising a washing compartment formed by .a tub and a top cover hinged adjacent the top edge of the tub at the rear of the machine, a dish-supporting rack mounted intermediate the height of the tub, the rack being divided into two sections, a rear stationary section and a front movable section, and means for supporting the front section so that when the cover is moved the front section will move therewith, said means being represented by a parallelogram linkage system wherein the said hinged cover represents part of one link in the said parallelogram linkage system, a second link being the front rack section itself, a third link being a pair of side arms each pivoted at one end adjacent the front of the front rack section and at its other end to the inner surface of the tub adjacent the rear rack section, the fourth link being the tub itself, said rear section \being substantially stationary within said tub, said system including a support rigidly secured to said cover and extending down into pivoted engagement with said front section, said support completing said first link so that said first link slants from the hinged junction of said cover to the top edge of said tub downwardly to the pivoted engagement of said support with said front section when said cover is closed sufficiently to cause said front section to move forward initially as it rises to an extent sufficient to clear said rear section.

3. An automatic dishwashing machine comprising a washing compartment formed by a tub and a top cover hinged adjacent the top edge of the tub at the rear of the machine, a dish-supporting rack mounted adjacent the mid-height of the tub, said rack being divided into a rear section and a movable front setion, a parallelogram linkage system entirely supporting said front rack section, one link of the system being in part the hinged cover, the front rack section being a second link, a third link being represented by a pair of side arms each pivoted at one end to the front rack section at a point below the front portion thereof and at its other end to the tub at a point beside the rear rack section, said rear section being substantially stationary within said tub, said system including a support rigidly secured to said cover .and extending down into pivoted engagement with said front section, said support completing said one link, whereby said one link slants from the hinged junction of said cover to the top edge of said tub downwardly to the pivoted engagement of said support with said front section when said cover is closed sufficiently to cause said front section to move forward initially as it rises to an extent suflicient to clear said rear section, and counterbalance spring means combined with the cover to bias the cover to a substantially vertical position so that when the dishes are loaded into the front rack section the advertently.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Stocker May 30, 1911 8 Hixson Dec. 13, 1927 Loftin Jan. 8, 1935 Moore Apr. 28, 1936 Burdge May 31, 1938 Loftin July 19, 1938 Constantine Feb. 28, 1939 Orley Oct. 17, 1944 

1. AN AUTOMATIC DISHWASHING MACHINE COMPRISING A TUB THAT IS OPENED AT THE TOP, A TOP COVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ADJACENT THE TOP BACK EDGE OF THE TUB AND SERVING WHEN IN A CLOSED POSITION TO SEAL THE TUB AND FORM A DISHWASHING COMPARTMENT, DISH-SUPPORTING RACK MEANS MOUNTED IN THE TUB ADJACENT THE MID-HEIGHT THEREOF, THE RACK MEANS BEING DIVIDED INTO AT LEAST TWO SECTIONS, THERE BEING A FRONT RACK SECTION AND A REAR RACK SECTION THAT SUBSTANTIALLY FILL THE AREA IN PLAN VIEW OF THE TUB, A PARALLELOGRAM LINKAGE SYSTEM SUPPORTING SAID FRONT SECTION FROM THE TUB AND COVER SO THAT WHEN THE COVER IS RAISED THE FRONT RACK SECTION RISES WITH THE COVER TO SUBSTANTIALLY OVERLIE THE REAR SECTION, SAID REAR SECTION BEING SUBSTANTIALLY STATIONARY WITH SAID TUB, SAID SYSTEM INCLUDING A SUPPORT RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID COVER AND EXTENDING DOWN INTO PIVOTED ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FRONT SECTION, THE SAID COVER AND SAID SUPPORT ACTING AS ONE LINK OF THE PARALLELOGRAM LINKAGE SYSTEM, SAID ONE LINK SLANTING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE PIVOTAL MOUNTING OF SAID COVER TO THE PIVOTED ENGAGEMENT OF SAID SUPPORT WITH SAID FRONT SECTION WHEN SAID COVER IS CLOSED SUFFICIENTLY TO 